self-righteous

[self-rahy-chuhs, self-]

adjective

1. confident of one's own righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.

   Synonyms: pharisaical, sanctimonious

self-righteous

adjective

1. having or showing an exaggerated awareness of one's own virtuousness or rights

Other Word Forms

• self-righteously adverb
• self-righteousness noun
• unself-righteous adjective
• unself-righteously adverb
• unself-righteousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-righteous¹

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

“I know James isn’t going to take the impression in a more self-righteous or shrill direction,” he says—not because “SNL” is playing things safe, but because the bit simply wouldn’t be as funny.

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“When I made movies,” he said, “one of the things that kept me from being too self-righteous is my memory of the Japanese kids who were in my class one day, then gone the next.”

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Also: He isn’t self-righteous, which he views as “the ultimate sin of political correctness.”

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We remember them as they actually are because we grew up among them: bitter, mean, and self-righteous.

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More than this, it redeems Daniel too, highlighting his transformation from a self-righteous know-it-all into a man who makes peace with some mysteries and finds balance with the man he once tolerated.

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Related Words

• complacent 
• egotistical www.thesaurus.com
• hypocritical 
• pious 
• sanctimonious